among a group of hostages being held by islamist militants in algeria. the militants and their captives are being surrounded by troops at a natural gas complex with no means of escape. the u.s. says it will take all necessary steps to deal with the attacks that appears to be retaliation for the french dealing with mali. susan mcginnis is watching in washington this morning. susan, good morning to you. >> good morning, terrell. they say two people have been killed, one brit and one algerian and the algerian officials say the government is in talks with the u.s. and with france about whether an international force can help with this standoff. algerian troops now surround the natural gas field where terrorists are holding dozens of workers hostage including several americans. the two sides are in an apparent standoff. the militants claiming to be part of al qaeda stormed the complex in the sahara desert

wednesday morning killing two people and injuring six others. u.s. officials say they're in constant contact with algerian authorities. >> by all indications, this is a terrorist act, and the united states strongly condemns these kinds of terrorist acts. >> the terrorist group called the mass brigade is reportedly under the command of this man. he goes by an arabic nickname meaning one-eyed man and is known to have ties to al qaeda. the obama administration says it is not releasing the names of the american hostages for their own security. >> i'm not going to get into any further details as we continue to work on this issue with the algerian authorities. >> the militants say they took over the gas plant in retaliation for the air strikes in mali. with u.s. support the french started bombing last week to keep islamist group from taking over the country. the terrorists say they will not release any hostages until france calls off the militant

operations. the workers from the complex are from several countries. leaders of those nations are working with the algerian military which says they have the militants surrounded with no way to escape. now, u.s. officials say this could be the beginning of a wave of attacks against foreigners in the region. terrell? >> susan mcginnis in washington this morning. susan, thank you so much. in east africa this morning a somali militant group says it executed a french hostage that france tried to rescue last week. denny alex was the name used by a french intelligence officer captured by the militants in july of 2009. the militants said they killed alex last night. french officials say they believe alex was killed during last week's raid. secretary of state hillary clinton will testify on capitol hill next wednesday about the deadly attack on the u.s. consulate in benghazi, libya. clinton was scheduled to testify last month. it was canceled though after she suffered a concussion. in the september 11th attack,

chris stevens and three other americans were killed raising questions about consulate security. to gun control now and the next move is up to congress. yesterday the president unveiled his plan to curb gun violence including a ban on military-style assault weapons. mr. obama took some action on his own but concedes it will be difficult to get congress to act. danielle nottingham reports. >> reporter: with the stroke of a pen, president obama signed 23 executive orders combatting gun violence. one directs the center for disease control to study gun violence. another helps young people get mental health treatment. >> if there's even one life that can be saved, then we've good an obligation to try it. >> reporter: the president called for a ban on assault weapons and ammunition magazines with more than ten rounds. he also wants background checks for everyone buying a gun. >> and i'm calling on congress to pass some very specific proposals right away. >> reporter: children who wrote the president after the connecticut shooting were in the audience for the announcement, and so was annette nance-holt

whose son blair was shot down on a chicago city bus. >> blair did good and today the president did that. >> reporter: the president said change will not happen without help from the public. he urged gun owners to pressure the nra and their lawmakers to support new gun laws. jane weaver represents the second amendment sisters. she says new laws are a knee-jerk reaction. >> let's pass a regulation and then everybody feels better. >> reporter: the nra says it will fight most of the president's proposal, but there is common ground when it comes to expanding background checks. >> background checks at the gun shows. that, as i say, was something we discussed with the atf years ago and we said we didn't have a problem with that. >> reporter: several republican lawmakers released statements saying they will oppose any new gun laws. danielle nottingham, cbs news, the white house. following days of soaking rain this morning the southeast is now in store for snow. winter storm warnings and

watches are posted from the gulf coast to the mid-atlantic. heavy snow is forecasted from north georgia to washington, d.c., which could get up to 6 inches. up to 2 inches is forecasted for alabama and mississippi. there's been widespread flooding in west virginia and tennessee and some dangerous icy road conditions. the 787 dreamliner is turning into a nightmare for boeing. the high-tech jet has been grounded in this country by the faa. airlines in japan and india and the european aviation safety agency have also forced the new jet to stop flying. there have been a number of safety-related issues with the 787, but the risk of battery fires appears to be the most troublesome. boeing says the 787 is safe. randall pinkston has the report. >> reporter: the federal aviation administration ordered all 787 dreamliners grounded in the u.s. while the agency investigates problems with the plane's lithion batteries.

the move follows an emergency landing in western japan thursday, which forced them to ground two of their airliner fleets. passengers got off using inflatable slides. one passenger got injured. the crew detected a burning smell 45 minutes into the flight, and their instrument panel showed battery marks. it's the latest in a string of problems for boeing's new aircraft. just this month fuel leaks and cracked window grounded some 787 flights and another battery problem sparked a fire on an empty plane in boston. corporate pilot john moss says he's not sure if he would fly the 787 right now. >> at this point maybe i'd refrain until they worked some matters out. >> reporter: last week the faa insisted the dreamliner was safe, but announced it was looking into the plane's technology, design, and manufacturing. >> the key is to be able to understand what's going on with these aircraft, get them fixed, and make sure that if it's a design issue, make the appropriate change.

>> reporter: the ntsb is sending a team to japan to help with the investigation. randall pinkston, cbs news new york. coming up on the "morning news" on a thursday, wall-to-wall rescue. firefighters work to save a woman trapped between a narrow space between two buildings. and football mystery. manti te'o appears to be the victim of a cruel hoax involving what he thought was his girlfriend. this is the "morning news." of just-picked fruit. so it's no wonder why today smucker's makes the world's best jam. found ya! you always find me. you always hide here. [ male announcer ] with a name like smucker's it has to be good. dare to leave your lipstick at home. new revlon colorstay ultimate suede™ lipstick gives you all-day color and instant moisture with shea butter and aloe. for food-proof wear and velvety soft lips. capella university understands many schools don't have the resources they need.

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...like dust... ...mold... ...pets... ...and pollen. looks good. thanks. i live claritin clear. an oregon woman fell a dozen feet from a roof and wound up wedged between two buildings four feet above the ground yesterday morning. portland firefighters used concrete saws to try and cut her out and high-powered air bags to spread the walls. temperatures were just above freezing, so a propane heater was used to keep her warm. >> we basically used soapy water to lube up the sides of the walls and between us and her, she was getting out. >> the rescue took nearly four hours.

afterward she hugged her husband. she was taken to the hospital and appeared to be in good health. the pilot of the helicopter that crashed in central london asked air traffic controllers to land at a nearby heliport due to bad weather. the helicopter hit the top of a building and then plunged below. the pilot and one other died. 13 others were hurt. one iconic jersey shore boardwalk is now being restored after superstorm sandy blew it to bits. generations spent summers in seaside heights. it's also the backdrop for mtv's "jersey shore" show. last night see side heights was awarded a $3.6 million contract to rebuild the boardwalk. it should be ready in time for memorial day. "cbs moneywatch" time now on a thursday morning. banks report big earnings, and a major airline tries to raise fairs again. ashley morrison is here in new york with that and more. ashley, good morning to you. >> good morning to you, terrell.

asian markets were cautious ahead of a key report by china. hong kong's hang sang shed a fraction. two major banks reported earnings that beat analysts' estimates. goldman sachs said profits nearly tripled, and jpmorgan chase reported earnings up 55%. bank of america and citigroup will release their reports today. and despite jpmorgan chase's impressive earnings report, the bank's board is docking its ceo ceo's pay by more than a half. they say jay my dimon is ultimately responsibility for the $60 million loss. his pay was cut to $11.5 million down from $23 million. the 787 dreamliner pulled down the dow that lost 23 points.

a plan put forth by a group of influential business leaders would keep you working until you turn 750. the proposal increases the age required to receive full social security and medicare benefits. it would also partially privatize medicare itself. the plan would not affect americans 55 and older, only younger members of the work force. and united airlines raised prices yesterday for domestic travel, boosting fairs by as much as $20 round trip, but whether the hike sticks remains to be seen. earlier this month the airline tried to raise fairs by 10 bucks but rolled them back when no other airlines followed that move. so hopefully no other airline will follow that move. >> will they actually do it. right. >> a little shady. >> yeah. >> ashley morrison here in new york. ashley, thanks so much. up next, your thursday morning weather and in sports a heisman trophy winner and a hoax. the strange story involving notre dame football player manti te'o. mantieo ya.

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maybe you can be there; maybe you can't. when you have migraines with fifteen or more headache days a month, you miss out on your life. you may have chronic migraine. go to mychronicmigraine.com to find a headache specialist. and don't live a maybe life. here's a look at the weather in some cities around the country. partly sunny, new york, 43 degrees. mostly sunny in chicago, 27 degrees. mostly sunny in dallas, 52. same deal in l.a., 76 degrees. let's check your national forecast. snow will fall from mississippi to maryland today, brings as many as 8 inches to higher elevations and 2 to 6 inches to the nation's capital. rain will fall from alabama to the carolinas with some areas of flooding. rain also begins flooding in the mid-atlantic states. the northeast and midwest stay dry while much of the west will see windy conditions.

the world of sports is intrigued by a strange story involving notre dame football star manti te'o. the heisman trophy finalist grabbed the national spotlight when his grandmother and girlfriend died on the same day. it turns out she never died. in fact, never even existed. notre dame says te'o was the target of a hoax. he was duped into a relationship with an online persona created by a group of perpetrators. he was led to believe she died in september. they report there are no death or school records for the woman. notre dame's athletic director says te'o was the perfect mark. >> he is a guy who is so willing to believe in others and so ready to help that as this hoax played out in a way that called upon those tendencies of manti and roped him more and more into the trap. >> notre dame says te'o learned of the hoax when he received a

call from the woman's phone number during an awards ceremony in december. te'o released a statement in part reading, quote, to realize that i was the victim of apparently someone's sick joke and constant lies was and is painful and humiliating. >> to the nba now, lebron james wrote his name in the record books twice. second quarter we go. lebron dribbled to the foul line and hit is the 15-footer. that's his 20,000th career point. he's the youngest player in the league to reach that milestone. james also recorded his 5,000th assist as the heat take down the warriors warriors. doc rivers coaching against his son austin a rookie for the hornets. austin scored eight points against his old man's team. they win, 90-78. when we come back, the latest warning about energy drinks. why more people are ending up in the emergency room after drinking them.

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hostages captured by islamist militants in algeria have escaped. we'll have the latest on this developing story. plus: terrifying truth hundreds of levees around the country are in danger of failing. how bay area waterways could be at risk. and a college football star devastated by his girlfriend's death. now a cruel twist. turns out, the story was a hoax. join us for cbs 5 eyewitness news this morning... beginning at 4:30. good morning. it's thursday, january 17th. i'm

here's a look at the weather in some cities around the country. in washington, rain and snow 43 degrees. atlanta, rain, 49. mostly sunny in st. louis, 38 degrees. sunny in denver, 48. and 45 and morning fog in seattle. so energy drinks are supposed to give you a quick boost when you're feeling sluggish, but more people are ending up in emergency rooms after drinking them. some even die. bigad shaban haas more on the alarming results of a new government study. >> reporter: energy drinks are super popular, especially with young adults. >> it kind of gives me like a boost. >> reporter: this college junior works late nights at a restaurant and uses them to stay away. >> during the shift i'll feel tired and knock one down. >> reporter: but the drinks are landing more and more people in the emergency room. >> it's the first question i ask when i see a young person with

a rapid heart beat and anxiety, have you taken any energy drinks. >> reporter: a report from the substance abuse and mental health services says e.r. visits doubled in the last four years from about 10,000 to more than 20,000. doctors say those high doses of caffeine and other additives can cause a number of reactions. >> it's going to be really symptoms of taking a stimulant. so you're going have nervousness, rapid heart rate, anxiety. >> reporter: in recent years sales have soared with the top three energy companies, monster red bull and rock star. and their main target is young people. the government report found 18- to 25-year-olds to be the most common age group to seek treatment. >> i get hyper and pace, and i just don't feel good.

>> reporter: the american beverage association criticizes the report saying many of those who wind up in the e.r. are also consuming alcohol or drugs. bigad shaban, cbs news, los angeles. the actor who starred in the hit sitcom "different strokes" passed away monday in california. conrad bain is best known for playing the wealthy white widower named phil drummond who adopted two young african-american brothers. bane served in world war ii before entering school in new york. he eventually took a role on the cbs show "maude" before landing a role on "different strokes." conrad bain was 89 years old. coming up after your local news on "cbs this morning," new rules that might help homeowners facing foreclosure and a preview of oprah's interview tonight with cyclist lance armstrong. i'm terrell brown. this is the "cbs morning news."

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nasa is testing a balloon-like room that might one day be a home for astronauts in space. the inflatable room can be compressed into a seven-foot tube and will be sent to the international space station for testing in 2017. it's said to be stronger than metal cans currently being used. it could open the door to habitants on the moon and a mission to mars. a major new study offers the ost convincing evidence yet that it's safe for pregnant women to receive the flu shot. researchers in norway looked at more than 113,000 pregnancies in 2009 and 2010. they found the risk of fetal dealt was tries as high for women not vaccinated as it was for vaccinated mothers. experts say it's not too late for pregnant women to get the flu shot. so far the flu outbreak has claimed the lives of 20 children, but there's another virus that's on the rise. as dr. jon lapook reports, it can have serious consequences, especially in the young.

>> what started out as a cold for jude sanford quickly turned into a trip to the emergency room. rebecca and steven sanford are jude's parents. >> he's a 6-month-old little boy who was running nearly a 104 temp and was struggling to breathe. just really concerned so got him here as quick as we could. >> arkansas children's hospital is in the middle of a flu epidemic but jude was fighting a different infection called rsv or respiratory syncytial virus. it attacks the lung. >> being sick has not been fun for you. >> dr. michelle moss helped take care of jude. she says right now more babies are in the intensive care unit for rsv instead of flu. >> little tiny babies, newborns.

we'll see them actually stop breathing and oftentimes that can be the first symptom of rsv. >> jude was placed on a ventilator because he could hardly breathe and he quickly deteriorated. his parents were called to the bed site at 3:00 in the morning. >> for us to call them in the middle of the night, i knew -- i felt like it was over that he was not going to make it. >> most children get rsv by age 2 and have relatively mild symptoms resembling a cold. but for a small percentage of babies like jude, the tiny airways of the lung can get so inflamed the virus becoming life-threatening. >> he came very close to having to go on life support, but he turned it around and got better. >> researchers are trying to develop a vaccine for rsv. one problem is the immune systems of the group, newborns are so immature it's hard for vaccines to be effective. dr. jon lapook, cbs news, new york. coming up after your local news on "cbs this morning," the latest on the americans taken hostage in algeria.

john miller offers some insight. plus the reaction to president obama's gun control proposals. that and more a little bit later on "cbs this morning." as always that is it for "cbs morning news." i'm terrell brown in new york. take care, everybody. have a great day. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

>> your realtime captioner: linda marie macdonald good morning. it is thursday, january 17. i'm frank mallicoat. >> i'm michelle griego. time now is just about 4:30. good news. another beautiful day on tap. it started out chilly yesterday but then -- >> yeah. still we have a couple of cold spots in some of the valleys but a lot of sunshine coming our way, mid-60s in the bay area all courtesy of mr. high pressure sticking around all day long. we'll talk about that coming up. >> we love our high pressure. thank you, lawrence.

well, outside right now we're already watching one accident. it's eastbound 4 approaching 242. one lane blocked and roadwork in the area. we'll talk about that coming up. >> busy already. >> a little bit. >> thank you. 20 hostages are reportedly escaped from a natural gas plant in algeria where islamic militants hold dozens of foreigners captive. a security official says the escapees include americans and europeans. susan mcginnis has more on the ongoing situation deep in the sahara desert. reporter: algerian troops now surround the natural gas field where terrorists are holding dozens of workers hostage including several americans. the two sides are in an apparent standoff. the militants claim to be part of al qaeda and stormed the complex in the sahara desert wednesday morning killing two people and injuring six others. u.s. officials say they are in constant contact